Why are Christians still taking part in Interfaith initiatives with often questionable Islamic groups and individuals?

May 31, 2013

Christians killed by Muslims in Nigeria on January 7th 2012 in the town of Mubi, in the Adamawa state of northern Nigeria

The Vatican has estimated the number of Christians killed because they are Christians stands at around 100,000, and that anti-Christian violence and oppression is on the rise in the Islamic world. In the light of this information, the question does need to be asked, just what are Christians gaining from interfaith work with Islamic groups? If you look at how Christians are being treated in Nigeria or Egypt and elsewhere in the Islamic world, the answer seems to be that apart from a warm glow of self-righteousness for the individual Western Christians, not very much at all.

For many years Christians both those from the established Church and those from other branches, have sat on various boards, committees and been a part of quangos and charities alongside representatives of Islamic groups. The representatives of some of these Islamic groups too often are supporters of groups overseas which have oppressed Christians or which have taken part in violence against Christians and others. It doesn’t appear that any of these Islamic groups have been properly challenged by Christians on the subject of support for violence and oppression, nor on the hatefilled statements that too many Islamic groups either make, facilitate or agree with.

An example of this situation can be found in the Citizens UK umbrella community group, which contains many Churches as members, but which constantly makes excuses for the politically extreme East London Mosque. Many of these churches seem to be too silent in the face of support for those who see Christians as sub human and shockingly see nothing wrong in being a member of a group that runs cover for those who wish to see Christians and Jews enslaved and Hindus and Sikhs exterminated. To support such an organisation is a travesty of the word ‘interfaith’.

Maybe it is time for Christians to learn to be more cynical about those they are purporting to interfaith with, and to realise that you cannot fight an exterminationist enemy by laying down and staying silent. There are some situations where naieve expressions of humility and of love of all humanity are misplaced, and playing nice with Islam whilst the followers of that ideology are killing thousands of your co-religionists worldwide is definitely one of those situations. Although there is oppression of Christians other than in the Islamic world, it is in the nations and cultures based on Islam where the greatest growth in anti Christian oppression appears to be coming from. This growth in oppression is something that Christians should be justifably getting angry about. This not the time to ‘Turn the other cheek.’

An example, just one among far too many, of the bestial behaviour of Islamic groups against Christians, 15 Nigerian Christians had their throats cut, just for being Christians. This story is the origin of the horrific picture at the head of this post.

I disagree. Christianity and Judaism have been in Europe for such a long time and are so much part of the culture that they should be considered ‘indigenous’. People are not going to go back to the Norse religions no matter how much they are promoted. The issue we have in Europe is with aggressive Islam not with any other religious path.